Raiponce
by Abbie Von Dutch
Summary: A loose adaptation of Rapunzel, but instead of being found by a prince, our heroine is found by a scythe. 'Tis a hard life for a young girl, whose fear is... everything.


**It's been so terribly long since I've submitted anything. I've been writing here and there, but my job at Taco Bell has kept my mind utterly pudding-ified.  
>So, I recently finished up this one-shot which is rather long, but c'est la vie. La vie. Ah, solid joke.<strong>

**Because my mind is an incorrigible thing, I won't waste anymore time. Onward!  
><strong>

The girl ran, frightened, as she left far behind her the fire currently destroying her home. She ran because she had nothing left, and wanted to never again see another living being. And so she kept running, until she found a lone tower. There she stayed, content to be perfectly alone.

Act I (In Which Soul Loses And Finds People More Than Once)

"This is so uncool... where the hell did Maka go?" A white-haired youth was trudging along a dirt road, eyes searching, before he heard a ruffling nearby. Suspicious, he went to investigate the source of the noise, until he tripped over something. Looking towards his feet, he saw something that in all of his days he would never have thought he would see.

Hair. _Everywhere._

One end was caught in the bushes, various clumps stuck in surrounding branches, and it ran all the way past a tree until it was out of view. Soul followed the trail until he found a girl sitting with her head buried in her knees, her shoulders shaking. Soft sobs came from her body. He scratched his head; emotional girls _always_ made him uncomfortable.

"Are you... okay?" She looked up at him, frightened, tears running down her cheeks.

"Who are you... and how did you find me?" He gestured sarcastically to her hair, hanging around from various branches. "I'm Soul, do you want my help or not?"

She nodded quickly. They both gathered up hair in their arms, untangling it from the trees and trying to keep it from catching in the bushes. Soul asked her why her hair was caught in the foliage, choosing to avoid the question of _why_ it was so long.

"The wind blew it every which way, and then I heard someone coming, so I hid."

"Which brings me to my next question: why are you in the woods? Don't you know it's dangerous here?" And then Soul thought to himself, _Why do girls always get themselves into trouble? It's just not cool to have to rescue them all the time._

"I live here."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah, so, I'll see you around," she said before smiling and suddenly turning left, disappearing into the forest.

"Wait...!" He tried to see where she went, but the trees blocked his view, as if they were protecting her from harm. "What's... your name?"

Soul decided that he should probably resume his search for Maka, so he turned back to retrace his steps, and went back to the spot that he lost her, only to find her. He walked sheepishly over, expecting her to scold him for losing her, but instead she looked excited, like she just aced her final exam.

"Soul! You'll never guess what I just found!" Maka's was breathless with exhilaration, and her eyes sparkled as she spoke. "C'mon, follow me!" She said as she grabbed Soul's hand and pulled him back into the woods. Before long, the branches hitting Soul's face stopped as they reached a clearing, with a tall tower standing in the middle of it. "Five guesses for who this belongs to," he muttered sarcastically.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Let's check it out."

Using Soul's blade as a makeshift rock-climbing set, Maka climbed up the stone tower, until she reached a window with plants and vines intertwining around the frame. Inside was a small living area, with stairs leading into another room. Climbing over the sill, Soul transformed back and looked around at the walls covered in paintings of flowers. Concluding there wasn't anyone in the main room, he moved up the stairs and left Maka to look at the small collection of books in the first room.

"I think I'll just go down and have some pudding and wait for it all to turn up... It always does in the end," said a voice coming from behind the curtains in the other room. Soul heard quiet steps walk towards the curtain, steps that sounded like bare feet. Before he could react, the curtain opened to reveal the girl with yards of hair holding a photograph of two happy-looking people. She opened her mouth to scream, and Soul, well...

...he panicked.

Act II (In Which Soul Finds Two Very Dear Things)

The photograph fluttered to her feet when he grabbed her wrists and pulled her closer, smashing his lips upon hers. She remained silent when he pulled away and placed his index finger on his lips. "Shh, Maka found this place, so don't be afraid, okay? We're not gonna hurt you."

She just silently sank to the floor and picked up the photograph.

"I never got your name, by the way," Soul said, reaching for the curtain.

"Oh... it's Laneia," she said, still looking at the picture. Soul walked out of the room, telling Maka that there was nothing in there, and they climbed back down the stone wall. Once they reached the bottom, though, a small voice called, "Wait...!" They looked back up, to see Laneia peering over the edge.

"Ah, um... would... you guys like some pudding...?"

"Why do you live here, all by yourself? Where's your family?" Maka asked Laneia as she tried to find somewhere that her pile of hair would be out of the way.

"It's a long story," she said as Soul gave her a look. "That is to say, ah... well, my old home was burnt down when my brother, um, became a kishin. My dad and mom were a team, and they kind of... lost. The damage was so much, all I got was that picture... So, I live here so I can be safe. Where no one can-could find me." She smiled vaguely. "I should probably find a new place now. I've always wanted to go to Italy, you know."

Soul and Maka exchanged looks. "Why? We promise we won't tell anyone. Besides, don't you want to leave anyways? The world isn't as bad as it seems," Maka said.

"But, I never wanted to be found in the first place. You two are the first people who have found this tower, so I suppose it might be time to leave it behind. I promised myself that I wouldn't let anyone find me, so forgive me if I seem a little disappointed or rude. Everything's changed." Laneia's gaze trailed off to somewhere outside the window.

Soul finally spoke up, "Maka, look at the time."

Maka looked at the clock and jumped for a second, before yelling at Soul for letting her lose track of time, thanking Laneia for the pudding, and quickly making her way down the tower with Soul. Laneia sighed sadly when they left, and began packing her closest belongings. "I suppose I should clean this place, so at least they won't think me messy when they see that I've left." Silence answered.

"It's a little sad... I guess I'll miss this place."

Soul, replaying certain _moments _in his head from the day before, ate breakfast early in hopes of seeing the girl before she left. The tower was hard for him to find, however, because being dragged through the forest by Maka never really gave him a chance to observe his surroundings. Once he reached the tower, there was an odd silence. Soul decided to climb to the window to see if she had left. The main room was empty, and the things that hung from the wall disappeared from their hooks and nails. The second room was equally empty, except for one thing in the center of the floor.

It was Laneia's photograph.

Soul quickly grabbed it and rushed down the tower wall once more, before rushing back to the pathway, and running the opposite way he came. Before long, though, he heard rustling once more. Pushing branches out of the way, he saw, yet again, Laneia's hair caught in the trees. And, yet again, she was sitting with her head in her hands, her knees pulled to her chest.

Act III (In Which Both Soul And Laneia Find Something Dear)

"We really should stop meeting like this," Soul said with a lopsided grin.

"Soul... you found me," she said, tears welling in her eyes.

"Yeah, I also found this, figured you might need it," he said and handed her the photograph.

"Thank you for everything, Soul. But I have one more favor to ask," Laneia whispered before pulling her hair back behind her head. "Do you have a blade?"

Soul volunteered his arm, which, surprisingly, did not surprise Laneia. She simply led it through her hair where it easily sliced it off. The remaining hair fell to the bottom of her shoulder blades. "It feels like a weight has been lifted... literally."

"Glad I could help, again," Soul said casually.

"It's easier to manage, at least." Laneia ran her fingers through her remaining locks effortlessly. "So, I'll be seeing you."

"What? You're_ still_ leaving?" Soul grabbed her shoulders, bringing his face inches away from hers. Her eyes were wide, hazel irises staring into red. "Why? You've found people who don't want to hurt you, who _like_ you, and it's not about you anymore. Why are you so intent on being alone?"

Laneia was surprised. She knew what it was like to hold something close, lose it, and find something else to hold close, only to have to leave it behind. This time she found something to hold close, that held her close as well. This was something that Laneia surely would not lose.

"For what might have been lost, Soul. But you... find them. I think I like... being found."

"Well, that's cool," he said before tugging her forward by her hair and bending forward to place his lips on hers. This time, it was not out of panic at running into her, but this time out of joy at finding her. He did it because he found something very close to his heart, and he did not want to lose it again.

Not that he would ever say that out loud.


End file.
